Quick questions on Periodisation and training phases in QCE Physical Education Unit 4

A macrocycle for a team sport might be 10 months long with around 8 to 10 mesocycles inside it, and each mesocycle is around 4 to 6 microcycles.

Most macrocycles use four phases.

High volume, moderate intensity. Builds the aerobic base, work capacity, general strength, and movement quality. For an endurance athlete this is high-mileage continuous running; for a team-sport athlete this is general physical preparation, aerobic base, and basic strength.

Volume reduces and intensity rises. Training becomes more sport-specific (event-pace intervals, sport-specific skills, contact and game-realistic work for team sports). The athlete moves from general fitness toward event fitness.

The focus shifts to maintaining fitness while competing. Volume is lower, intensity remains high, and the program is built around the competition schedule. For weekly-competition sports like AFL or NRL, this is the in-season block where training tapers each week into the game and recovers in the days after.

Active recovery after the competitive period. Low volume, low intensity, often cross-training and unstructured activity. The purpose is physical and psychological recovery before the next macrocycle.

Roughly 16 to 24 weeks per macrocycle. Base sub-phase (8 to 10 weeks) builds high-volume aerobic running. Specific sub-phase (6 to 8 weeks) introduces marathon-pace long runs and aerobic intervals.

Base sub-phase emphasises general strength, aerobic capacity, and movement quality. Specific sub-phase introduces sprint-specific intervals and power work. Competition phase is the meet schedule, with weekly micro-cycles built around competition.

Multi-peak pattern matching the season schedule plus any international fixtures. The structure is the same in principle: base and specific preparatory blocks, competition phase with weekly micro-cycle planning, and transition. Adjustments include chair-handling specific blocks and shoulder injury management.

Identify the four main phases of a periodised training year and state the dominant emphasis of each. [4 marks]

Explain the purpose of tapering and describe a typical taper prescription for an endurance athlete. [4 marks]

Distinguish between single periodisation and multiple peaking, and identify which is appropriate for a team-sport athlete. [3 marks]